Tory minority in jeopardy as opposition talks coalition. Will there be another election?

[Neill McKay]

B) was conducted in part by cell phone, which in Canada are considered radio transmitters.
(the Department of Justice, Criminal Code: The Current Criminal Code definition of “private
communication” provides that a communication is private when it is made under circumstances in which it is reasonable for the
originator to expect that it will not be intercepted by any other person than the person intended by the originator to receive it.)
I may be out of date here, (I'm still researching) but on an open transmitter there cannot be an expectation of privacy as you are utilizing public domain "Airwaves".

The Radiocommunication Act provides:

9 (2) Except as prescribed, no person shall intercept and make use of, or intercept and divulge, any radiocommunication, except as permitted by the originator of the communication or the person intended by the originator of the communication to receive it.

 

[GAP]

But the CPC member that was invited, has the right to tape the conference call....he didn't sneak in, he was invited.

 

[Rodahn]

But the CPC member that was invited, has the right to tape the conference call....he didn't sneak in, he was invited.

While he was "invited", the invitation was sent to him in error, due to a similarity in names of members. The following link to an earlier post states the CC of C , and I believe that the operative wording in part 2 is intent.

http://forums.army.ca/forums/threads/81661/post-785106.html#msg785106

I rather doubt that the knee dipper intended to invite the Conservative member into the conference call, however this is something that lawyers and the court will have to resolve.

 

[Bruce Monkhouse]

Personally I don't care about anything except that two parties have now started an intimate relationship with another party who's eventual goal is the destruction of Canada......full stop.

The arguement that Mr. Harper was contemplating it a few years ago means nothing, I have mentioned many times that I would jump into bed with Joyce Dewitt but until I actually bump uglies with her than I have not.

If the Liberals and the NDPs could muster enough support on their own than I would say 'Alrighty then', but to kiss the ass of traitors?    Bite me.

 

[Babbling Brooks]

One of my colleagues at The Torch received a passionate expression of opinion on this political situation of ours in an e-mail from a retired VAdm.  We've published it with that gentleman's permission:

Regretfully, I am too old now to serve Canada in any political capacity. However, I did serve faithfully for 38 years in the RCN and the Canadian Armed Forces - including in NDHQ, as a Rear Admiral and Vice Admiral, where I had the honour to serve both under Liberal and Conservative Ministers of National Defence. In every instance they received my complete respect and loyalty regardless of Party.

My father also served in Canada's Navy for 37 years from 1909 to 1946. He commanded several RCN ships and both coasts, and was ultimately the Commanding Officer Pacific Coast during the last three years of World War II.

His father was Speaker of the House of Commons, during the Laurier Government, then was Minister of Inland Revenue, then Minister of Marine and Fisheries (in which capacity he became the founding Minister of the Royal Canadian Navy), then served as Justice of the Supreme Court of Canada, and ultimately died in office as Lieutenant Governor of Quebec. He devoted his entire life to Canada.

On behalf of three generations who have devoted their lives to Canada, I unequivocally condemn the power grabbing political charade now taking place in Parliament.

We are witnessing a deplorable and juvenile scene which demeans its participants, and also further erodes the residual prestige of a Canada which in both World Wars achieved greatness and international respect. Politicians and their sycophants delude themselves into believing that Canada has influence and prestige in the modern world. Compared to the Canadian international influence and prestige I witnessed in the 1950's we have become moralizing nonentities who are recognizably no longer even capable of constructing our own warships, submarines and military aircraft; and will soon become totally dependent on other nations for even our means of defence.

That's just part of it - RTWT here:

http://toyoufromfailinghands.blogspot.com/2008/12/service-and-country.html

 

[retiredgrunt45]

retiredgrunt, so you got no proof but just conspiracy theories. Amazing.

Did I say I had proof? I said assumption, there is a difference between assumptions and conspiracy theories, so don't go of and mince words I never said. Look up the word assumption in the dictionary.

assumption - a statement that is assumed to be true and from which a conclusion can be drawn;

I don't see any reference to conspiracy, do you?

 

[jeffb]

And here comes the May-Dion deal to roost...

http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20081202/dion_may_081202/20081202?hub=Politics

At a press conference in Ottawa, she suggested she would be open to the possibility of becoming a senator or cabinet minister, but the discussions with Dion were not specific.

I'm disgusted.  :

 

[dapaterson]

I have mentioned many times that I would jump into bed with Joyce Dewitt but until I actually bump uglies with her than I have not.

That's just disturbing on so many levels...

To carry this analogy further, I guess that makes John Ritter = Stephan Dion; Suzanne Somers (with a 'stache) = Jack Layton; and Joyce Dewitt = Gilles Duceppe.  And Stephen Harper must be Barney Fife.

 

[leroi]

A powerful letter that hit me right in the solar plexis--with a profound grief for what this country is becoming.

 

[GAP]

Hmmmm....is it just me, but do the characterizations actually work?

 

[gaspasser]

I think he has voiced what some of us can not. He obviously speaks from years of experience of himself and his family. 
Well done... Sir.   

 

[geo]

There have been some COs I have served under whom I would follow to the gates of hell.

This straight shooter coulda been one of them - too bad he's retired - he's a lot more sane than most of the politicians doing a donybrook

 

[dapaterson]

On a serious note, today we are seeing two national political parties conspiring in shadows with the moral children of the FLQ (today's BQ).  Let us stop and remember:


Wilfred O'Neill,  Leslie MacWilliams and Alfred Pinisch, Thérèse Morin, Jeanne d’Arc Saint-Germain, and Pierre Laporte.


And perhaps we should ask M Dion and Mr Layton their thoughts on these six.  And meaning of their conspiring with those who continue the FLQ's efforts through other means.



Je me souviens!

 

[Nfld Sapper]

PM to address the country about political crisis
Last Updated: Wednesday, December 3, 2008 | 9:45 AM ET CBC News

Prime Minister Stephen Harper will address the country at 7 p.m. ET on Wednesday to talk about the political crisis that could topple his Conservative minority government.

Harper will make a 10-minute pre-recorded statement in English and French to rally support to prevent a Liberal-NDP coalition from taking power.

The networks have agreed to a coalition response. The NDP has also asked for equal airtime but it is unknown if that request has been granted.

Harper's address comes as Gov. Gen. Michaëlle Jean is expected to arrive Wednesday in Ottawa, where she will immediately be thrown into a political crisis that she will have to resolve by deciding the fate of the federal government.

Jean has cut short a two-week visit to Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Slovenia and Hungary to return to Ottawa Wednesday night. On Thursday, she is expected to meet with Harper, whom many believe will ask her to suspend Parliament to avoid a confidence vote next week that could oust his government.

The Conservative government has already signalled it is considering all legal options to prevent a Liberal-NDP coalition. That increases the chances that Harper will ask Jean to prorogue Parliament, which would suspend the current session until January, when his government would present a budget.

But the Governor General faces other political options as well. She could decide to call an election should the Conservatives lose a confidence vote set to take place Monday or allow the proposed Liberal-NDP coalition to govern.

Liberal Leader Stéphane Dion, who would head the proposed coalition, said on Monday that he has sent the Governor General a letter stating he has the confidence of the House of Commons to form the government should the Conservatives be defeated.

Immigration Minister Jason Kenney said he has had private conversations with friends in the Official Opposition caucus who he said are looking for a way to resolve the situation.

"My colleagues are willing to work with those folks. I’ll tell you, having a time out may be what the doctor ordered — lower the temperature in this place."

He said he didn't know of reports that Liberals have been made offers to join the Conservatives to avoid the crisis. But Liberal MP Bryon Wilfert told CBC's Don Newman that one of his colleagues was called and offered a cabinet position.

The Tories have already begun a public relations blitz to discredit the pact, which the Bloc Québécois has agreed to support for at least 18 months.

Radio and TV ads have already rolled out and countrywide rallies are planned for the weekend. The Tories have characterized the agreement as an undemocratic coalition beholden to a separatist party.

But opposition members have denied the charges. They fired back with charges of hypocrisy, citing a letter to former governor general Adrienne Clarkson in 2004, signed by then opposition leaders Harper, Gilles Duceppe and Jack Layton, that discussed the prospects of dissolving Parliament if the government of Paul Martin, the prime minister, was to be defeated.

The letter stated that the opposition parties, which constituted a majority in the House, have "been in close consultation" and that if Clarkson was asked to dissolve Parliament, she should "consult the opposition leaders and consider all of your options before exercising your constitutional authority."

The Tories counter that that agreement was different because it didn't include a formal coalition.

The opposition parties said they made their move to form a coalition after Harper "did nothing" to address the current economic crisis. Their accord includes a proposed multibillion-dollar stimulus package with support for the auto and forestry sectors.

Proponents of the proposed coalition also announced planned rallies across Canada to show support for the plan, using social networking websites such as Facebook to spread word of the events.

The coalition has also launched a series of radio ads and appeals to supporters, asking them to call or write to their local radio stations and newspapers.

With files from the Canadian Press

 

[helpup]

The PM is supposed to be responsible to Canadians,

Agreed, and part of that would be to work with the other parties on a solution, especially in a minority Govt during this " economic crisis" ( and I am beginning to hate that term )
[/quote]

The Conservative government has had auditors going through the various departments for quite some time, rationally identifying places where cuts could/should be done. This is the kind of forward thinking I would expect from a government that sees trouble on the economic horizon.

Agreed and have stated that I fully supported the " lets not panic here " attitude and also with where they have been identifying where the waste is. It was one of the points he scored on the debates.

I do not believe that our government should follow the rest of the world lemming like into huge stimulus packages, especially when we have been told by organizations like the IMF that we are head and shoulders above the ROTW.

Agreed we are in better shape and had started to address allot of those issues before the house of cards came down in the states and went on from there.  I am not a fan of the spend your way out of this.  But do think if your going to then infrastructure that badly needs it should be a starting point. And I believe that is the direction the conservatives were going.

Is Canada in for a recession, I don't know, probably, but if you talk to anyone who has studied economics the huge projects and billions in stimulus undertaken during the Great Depression prolonged that crisis.

you forgot that it was also the protectionist attitude and looking at their own economies that contributed to its length.  

In addition the “New Deal” ( didn't end that crisis, WW2 did. Besides this what is $30 Billion to the world? This is a global slow down, with trillions and hundreds of billions being thrown around by the heavy hitters what if anything will our paltry sum do?

Agreed and it will mainly get us back to where we were a decade ago in the debt department.  But if you must then do it smartly in growth not Laytons slap business approach or the Green Sh$T

So to me when I hear people blaming the Conservatives for cutting pork during the most significant economic downturn in almost 100 years

I stated earlier on this post that the optics of doing the cash per vote program was bad, ill timed and not a smart thing to do. that opinion will not change. There may be better ways of ensuring what party gets what in donations and you would be right in saying that it should be from people volunteering their money to a party. ( put your money where your mouth is in other words) But the fact remains we didn't have that and what the Libs brought, right or wrong was something that could be looked at as fairer then relying on business and special intrest groups "buying themselves a politician".  Should it be changed?probably give me a better program that is fair, and I would more then likely approve of it.  But to try and change the funding formula when you know it would bankrupt or seriously hurt all the other parties except one.  During this time when you have a minority Govt.......... Nope that was not smart and brought up during the worse possible time.  And despite recent revelations of the NDP looking into things with the bloc about bringing down the Govt.  I firmly believe that little party financing package was what started this whole mess and leading to the head shake laugh as it hurts situation that we are in now.

it makes me shake my head in bewilderment, and when I hear people screaming for a bailout/stimulus package without any demonstrable proof that Canada needs it or that it will do anything it makes me ill.

Agreed with the Caveat that if your going to spend it spend it right not to just look like your doing something.

This kind of blind, pragmatic followership will create more problems than it will solve in my opinion.

I don't consider myself to be blind nor a blind follower.  However there is nothing wrong with being pragmatic.


Having said that I don't think we are really that far apart on most things outside of Harper doing the right thing about getting rid of the financial packages

 

[reccecrewman]

Due to the nature of our occupation, serving members are in a tricky spot when it comes to making statements in a public forum...... however, it's always a joy when you see something like this in print from an ex-serving member. It's a well spoken piece that comes from many years of experience and knowledge and isn't something that was pulled out of an a**....... Well said Sir.

 

[Fishbone Jones]

So, just as an aside and probably simplistic. The NDP engineered this coalition, led by Taliban Jack. Taliban Jack and the NDP exists largely today because of the CAW. The CAW and the Big 3 want us to bail them out.

So they want to use my money to keep their jobs and keep the NDP and TJ in place.

Hmmmm. I don't think I'll ever buy a North American vehicle again in my life.

Perhaps if enough auto workers saw their jobs go down the tubes, because of their party affiliation, we may see an end to the Dippers.

Just idle musings from someone down here in the blue collar, lunch bucket wasteland.

Edit to add:

Ken Lewenza, national president of the CAW, has said today that they stand behind the coalition and that it will be a good thing for Canada.

BTW, for those that don't know, the CAW doesn't just represent auto workers. They also represent hotel, casino, fisheries and other units outside the auto industry.

 

[Kat Stevens]

On CTV news last night, they showed a clip of Dion.  He was foaming at the mouth, real tough guy,  I thought for a moment that he'd developed a spine at last.  On closer inspection however, he was standing more upright than usual because Layton's hand was up his arse making the dummies mouth move.

 

[Reccesoldier]

On CTV news last night, they showed a clip of Dion.  He was foaming at the mouth, real tough guy,  I thought for a moment that he'd developed a spine at last.  On closer inspection however, he was standing more upright than usual because Layton's hand was up his arse making the dummies mouth move.

And Duceppe was behind Layton...

 

[Fishbone Jones]

On CTV news last night, they showed a clip of Dion.  He was foaming at the mouth, real tough guy,  I thought for a moment that he'd developed a spine at last.  On closer inspection however, he was standing more upright than usual because Layton's hand was up his arse making the dummies mouth move.

When I saw him I was just about to break out laughing when my normally quiet wife with her disinterest in politics saw him and described him as a raving lunatic. Any person on the street acting like that would likely be tazed and forcefully sedated. I find his righteous indignation hypocritical, staged and laughable. Somewhat like those tirades you see in old WWII newsreels of Hitler or Mussolini. Lots of fist pumping, desk banging, spitting and red faced yelling.................but no substance. At least they could work up a crowd. Not this loser.

Make no mistake Duceppe will be the puppet master at this Punch & Judy show.